It is hard to believe that it was 12 years ago when I took the then brand new Sun Odyssey 349 out for a test sail on Biscayne Bay in a pleasant trade wind easterly and had my jaw drop at the little pocket cruiser’s sailing performance. Plus, with square ends and chines, the 349 had the interior volume of a modern 37 footer.
Now, 2500 hulls later, this incredibly successful Jeanneau is being retired and in its place an all-new SO 350 has been introduced for 2024. Designed by Marc Lombard, the 350 has a reversed bow, an angled stern and a flat or even slightly convex sheer line. The hull is the widest in this class of cruisers at 11’9” and, with the chines, interior volume has been maximized.
Under the water, the 350 has twin rudders. There are three keel options, the 6’5” deep fin and bulb, the 4’8” fin and bulb and a high aspect articulated swing keel that was designed for cruising in shallow waters.
The cockpit is large and has a centerline table, bench seats of a good length, twin wheels and a drop-down stern swim platform. Jeanneau’s innovative walk-around side decks eliminate the need to scramble over the coaming to go forward and form a wide sluice for draining any deck wash off the stern.
The mast is set up fairly far aft, which reduces the size of the mainsail for ease of handling and increases the foretriangle so the slightly overlapping genoa will have plenty of power yet will be a cinch to tack.
The mast has an impressive air-draft of 52 feet and is supported by double spreaders that are aggressively swept back and, thus, eliminate the need for a backstay. No backstay permits the use of a fat head, roachy, full battened main sail that will really enhance sailing performance.
The 349 was a real pleasure to sail and provided a remarkable turn of speed for a smallish cruising boat. I have no doubt that with this tall rig, shallow hull and hydro-efficient keels, the 350 will do equally as well. With an aysm spinnaker flying from the bow sprit and a fat head main trimmed just so, she’s sure to fly.
LIVING ABOARD
Even though the hull is wider than most, Jeanneau decided to push the saloon settes right out to the hull and thus eliminated behind-the-backrest lockers. They also eliminated overhead lockers in the saloon. The result is a feeling of massive space. The downside is a relative paucity of storage lockers.
The new design can have either two or three cabins, with a V-berth forward and one or two quarter cabins aft. The sleeping cabins have hanging lockers and cabinet space for clothes.
I would opt for the two-cabin version so we could have the port quarter cabin dedicated to storage for sails, spare parts, groceries, extra clothing, and all the stuff you want to carry with you cruising, such as an inflatable stand-up paddle board, snorkeling gear and so forth.
It appears simplicity was the by-word at the top of the design specs for Mac Lombard and he has delivered. The 350 has a kind of minimalist feel to it and eschews, in a way, the more traditional warmth and coziness that has set Jeanneau interiors apart over the years. But, I like it and know the spaciousness of the saloon will make the crew feel comfortable.
Will the new SO 350 live up to the success of the 349? Time will tell. But, with a base price at around $110,000 (without a lot of necessary gear and equipment), it will have a very wide appeal.
